Détendre
by Rainripple
Summary: Law has some back pain and Sanji decides to help him out with a massage. Writing request no.1 (Summer 2016)


"Are you ok?"

"…I suppose." Law looked up at Sanji. "Any particular reason why you're concerned, Black leg-ya?"

Sanji shrugged and went back to washing the dishes. "You just look a bit stiff that's all."

Law hadn't been around for long – it hadn't even been a day since they'd formed the pirate alliance – but Sanji was observant enough to see that he wasn't exactly in prime condition. He did a pretty good job of acting like he was fine but he didn't hide the winces of pain he made if he moved in the wrong way well enough.

It was just after breakfast and he'd remained in the galley with Sanji while he skimmed through the rest of the newspaper. After a moment, he admitted, "A bit of back pain but nothing more serious."

"If you need anything, you can just ask Chopper y'know."

"I know. I can take care of myself. I _am_ a doctor."

Sanji snorted; was it him or did doctors use that as a justification for everything? "Then you should be taking better care of yourself idiot."

"And what makes you think you think I'm not doing that?" Law retorted as he turned another page.

"Injured people don't go to sleep sitting up do they?"

"Black leg-ya, I think you're taking the state of my condition way out of proportion. You're making me sound like I'm grievously in danger of dying if I move around too much."

Sanji muttered, "There are spare beds inside you know. You don't have to sleep outside."

"Someone has to keep an eye on Caesar."

The way Law was brushing off his concerns in such a nonchalant way was starting to irritate Sanji. "You do realise that we had 3 people on the lookout yesterday…"

"It doesn't hurt to have a fourth person. Doflamingo might have sent someone to try and take him back."

"And he didn't so can you stop with the paltry excuses Law." He turned around to glare at him only to find him smirking at him around his cup of tea.

Law closed the newspaper and folded it in half. "No need to worry. It shoul-" He abruptly stopped mid-sentence as he rose from his seat and glowered at Sanji who was giving him a 'I told you so' look. He coughed. " _Anyway_ , as I was saying, it should clear up soon so I'll be ready when we confront Doflamingo."

000

"Has it cleared up yet, _Dr Trafalgar_?"

"Good lord Black leg-ya, please don't tell me you've been waiting outside the bathroom just so you could poke fun at me."

Clearly Law had just had a shower judging by his wet hair which, combined with his indignant face, was making him look rather like a cat that'd just been dropped in the bath.

Contrary to what Law thought though, Sanji had actually had a better excuse for waiting outside. "Actually I was meaning to ask you…" He trailed off and gulped, hoping what he was going to say wasn't too outrageous. "Would you be ok with me giving you a back massage?"

Law blinked at him a few times before he seemed to register what Sanji had just proposed and honestly the look of bewilderment in his eyes was priceless. "Excuse me?"

"A back massage. Cos…y'know…" Sanji waved his hands around vaguely, suddenly trying not to make eye contact and ignore the blush starting to bloom on his face. "It wouldn't…hurt y'know…"

He heard someone coming down the corridor then so he just grabbed Law by the hand and dragged him away so that they wouldn't just be found staring at each other dumbly. Once they got to the medical bay where Sanji had everything set up, he closed the door behind them.

Law glanced around the room with suspicion, paying particular attention to the bottle beside the bed. Sanji could just tell what sort of ideas Law was suspecting so he sighed and walked over to show him the bottle label.

"It's just oil that's all. _Not lube_." He stressed that last bit because he knew Law had been suspecting that everything Sanji had said had been some sort of trick to get him into bed with him when that really wasn't true.

"Your proposal is still rather intimate considering…"

Law was still looking remarkably awkward about all of this and Sanji could clearly see that if he didn't do something to settle his doubts, his proposal was going to get nowhere.

"Look." Sanji forced him to make eye contact with him. "I'm sorry I just kind of blurted this out of the blue without giving you much warning. I promise you I have no ulterior motives for this but if you're uncomfortable, feel free to leave." He paused. "I'll ask again; can I give you a back massage?"

Law looked at him pensively for a few moments, some sort of emotion churning in his eyes before he sighed and pulled his shirt over his head. He draped the garment over a chair and laid face-down on the bed, shifting until he was comfortable. He nodded to Sanji as a go-ahead.

Sanji poured a small amount of oil into his palms and began to rub them together for a minute.

"Do let me know if things start getting uncomfortable or painful," Sanji said, trying his best to recall what Robin had advised him to do.

A hum was his only reply. Law looked remarkably bored now but when Sanji started rubbing the oil in, he was almost taken back by how tense he still was.

"Holy cow, you're stiff."

"Living on an island with no allies for a few months doesn't exactly do me wonders," Law muttered.

That made sense but Sanji had a feeling it was also partially because he was unused to having someone unfamiliar being so close to him. Law certainly didn't seem like the type to let anyone even touch him never mind letting himself be seen half-naked and be given something as intimate as a massage. It made Sanji feel quite proud that Law had let him be an exception.

Sanji lay his palms at the base of Law's back and skimmed them up in gliding strokes right up to his neck before lightly bringing them back down the sides to start again, each time with slightly more pressure.

"Is that ok?" Sanji asked, getting another hum in return. "Don't forget to take deep breaths."

Law did exactly that, the tanned muscles rippling as he breathed in and breathed out again.

After a few minutes, Sanji switched to a different style. This time, using his fingertips and palms, he began to apply smaller, circular strokes – 'like kneading bread' as Robin had said – and he snickered as Law let out a few appreciative murmurs. Law was still staring in the direction of the door but Sanji was glad to see he looked more tired than bored.

He was careful to avoid putting too much pressure on the long thin bruises crisscrossed across his back; Sanji could only imagine how much those must have hurt at the time considering who those must have come from.

Thankfully at this time of night, his captain was asleep so there were no crazy happenings which could disrupt the peace in the room. If he listened carefully, he could probably hear Zoro snoring but he was far enough away to block out.

"I must say, you're doing a pretty good job Black leg-ya."

Sanji snickered. "Good to hear." He paused. "My old man Zeff used to get me to do this for him. I asked Robin-chwan for tips though because you probably wouldn't appreciate me banging on your back as hard as he made me do sometimes."

" _Little eggplant, how do you expect me to feel that?"_

" _Huh, is that not hard enough?"_

" _Ye need to bang harder with those puny arms of yours you lil' brat."_

Just thinking about 8 year old him trying to pound Zeff's back as hard as he could made Sanji chuckle. Law glanced at him and gave him a small smile before looking away again.

The professional methods he was using now were a far cry from the old times but a lot more appropriate for the occasion. Great satisfaction rushed through him as he felt the tension slowly seep out of Law's back and by the time he moved onto the last thing he planned to do, he could feel how slack the muscles were.

Balling his hands into loose fists, he gently patted them across his back in repetitive motions like he was beating the fatigue out of him and as he got near the shoulder area, he realised that Law had slipped off into sleep at some point when he'd been focused on other things.

There was an expression of absolute bliss on there that was usually absent and Sanji felt pleased that he'd been able to relax him that much.

Sanji had noticed how uneasy he was on their ship and even though he should technically be able to trust them enough to relax at least a little, he was still as stiff as ever.

He patted his back a few more times before he stopped and draped a blanket over him. His arms were tired now but he felt it had been worth the effort. When he made his way to the door however, he heard a muffled "hey," which made Sanji turn back towards the bed.

Law was looking at him rather sleepily, his golden eyes half open as he mumbled, "Sorry. I fell asleep."

He waved him off. "No problem."

He walked back towards him and hesitated before stroking a hand through Law's hair. Much to his surprise, Law didn't flinch away from it. Sanji indicated the porthole. "If you're worried about Caesar, the window looks out directly at him."

"…Thanks," Law said, blinking at him slowly.

Sanji smiled. "You're welcome. Go back to sleep. I'll kick your ass if I see you back out there before morning."

Law simply chuckled. "I'm sure you will."


End file.
